


people like you have no imagination

by PenelopeJadewing



Series: fictober 2018 [2]
Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Bakugou was not prepared, Blood and Gore, Fictober 2018, Gen, Psychological Torture, Uchiha Itachi is Terrifying, he can't win this fight, mentions of others - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 13:12:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16175765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PenelopeJadewing/pseuds/PenelopeJadewing
Summary: Bakugou's looking for a fight and finds the villain known as Izanami. He thinks he stands a chance.How wrong he is.





	people like you have no imagination

Katsuki doesn’t know why the wellbeing of that f***face Uchiha is any of his business. If it was entirely up to him, he’d let the kid disappear like he oh-so-wanted to and not bat an eye. Good riddance, he’d say. It’ll be easier to get to the top unhindered without him.

But Deku never could leave well enough alone. And he even got Kirishima to twist Katsuki’s arm about it. Now he’s scouring the streets in the final curtain of twilight with the rest of them—the rest being Deku, Four Eyes, Half N’ Half, and Kirishima—in full Hero costume, rushing down dank streets covered in ancient grime and moss that smells like the nearby waterfront. Or maybe it’s just the waterfront. In any case, the air is cold and moist and smells like fish and the buildings all look like a set from an apocalypse movie and Katsuki friggin’ hates life in this moment.

When they find the Uchiha, Katsuki’s gonna kill him.

Kirishima, idiot as he is, doesn’t seem to dislike their situation nearly as much. Or perhaps it’s more that he dislikes it for entirely different reasons. Reasons like ‘oh no our friend is out there somewhere about to do something f***ing stupid’ or some such sentimental s***. He’s got that pinch between his eyebrows, eyes staring forward but not really seeing, so preoccupied is he with this concern he has for a classmate he barely talks to. Katsuki can’t relate.

He prefers not to waste the effort on a guy he’s loathed since the beginning.

They don’t have a communication system set up between them, since this isn’t an official, sanctioned operation, technically. Deku seemed to be in a hurry when he rallied them. He claims they’re not looking for a fight, just trying to find and stop the Uchiha before he goes and gets himself killed, but Katsuki’s positive things won’t go down that way. No way in h***. Things are never that easy.

And since they all already have a decent idea of where the moron’s headed, the chances of them escaping without coming to blows are little-to-none.

Katsuki’s seen Uchiha Itachi—calls himself Izanami now, seems like—fight before. He’s been a victim of his Quirk at least twice. This isn’t someone you just get out of fighting.

Just thinking about it makes his palms heat and his teeth clench hard enough to hurt.

Kirishima seems to notice his mood boiling over. “Whoa, dude, you good?”

“I hate these Uchiha b******s,” Katsuki snarls. “They’re nothing but trouble. I could be in bed by now, but no, I hafta drag my a** out here for some s***stain vigilante wannabe who’s too focused on revenge to notice how difficult he’s making things for everybody else. That’s some friend Deku’s got. He’s nothing but a selfish a**hole.”

“Bakugou… are you actually defending Midoriya??” Kirishima sounds way too surprised and it ticks Katsuki off.

He whirls to growl at Kirishima over his shoulder. “F*** off, Dumb Hair!”

“Okay, okay, chill out. I was just asking.”

“Well, don’t ask.”

“Whatever you want, Bakugou.” But he’s smirking and Katsuki can already tell what he’s thinking.

He’s thinking Katsuki actually cares about the fact that Deku’s stupid worried about his Uchiha friend. He’s thinking Katsuki actually doesn’t mind being out here, helping his classmates with this doomed search and rescue mission. He’s thinking Katsuki actually gives a d*** about any of them.

Well, he’s wrong. Obviously.

Katsuki refocuses his attention on the buildings they’re passing. From what that Gen. Ed. punk with the Radar Quirk had said, Uchiha was headed in this direction before they headed out from U.A… That was half an hour ago, granted, but surely the moron couldn’t be far. If this is his intended destination—which, why wouldn’t it be, if the note they found in Uchiha’s room is legit?—then they have to be getting close.

They better hurry. Deku said the note isn’t Uchiha’s handwriting. There’s a mysterious third party at work, and if it really is Izanami… S***’s about to go down.

“This won’t do,” hisses a voice above their heads, closing fast.

Katsuki grabs Kirishima and leaps backward just before the biggest sword he’s ever seen smashes into the street—right where they would’ve been within the next half second. The impact makes the street lamps tremble and the nearby pedestrians shriek and shout in alarm.

Behind the sword, hands still on the pommel, stands a giant of a man. He stands at least 6’4”, maybe 6’5”… he’s freaking huge, whatever the case. And is his skin blue or is that the neon lights?

Doesn’t matter, Katsuki decides. This guy just attacked them. At random. Is it because they’re dressed in costume or because they’re kids? If he thinks they’re going to be easy targets, he’s sadly mistaken. Katsuki raises his palms, ready for a fight.

The blue man sneers and raises his sword—actually, it’s less of a sword and more of an axe with a really long blade. It looks like something out of some convoluted MMORPG game where all the weapons are insanely massive. The guy leans on it like he’s just out for an evening stroll. “Looks like a few little mice came looking for the cat. I’m afraid the cat is busy with the crow at the moment, though, so I’ll have to turn you back here.”

“Who the heck is this guy?” Kirishima mutters beside him. A glance over reveals he’s activated his Hardening Quirk on his arms, as ready for a skirmish as Katsuki’s feeling.

“I dunno, but he’s not worth our time.” Katsuki says this just loud enough for the blue freak to hear. “Let’s go.”

The blue guy actually dares to laugh. “Isn’t that cute. Don’t underestimate your opponent, now.”

“Good advice,” Kirishima shoots back, just before Katsuki levels a double-palmed explosion toward the fool standing in their way. Sparks and billowing smoke fill the street, car alarms go off and a few windows shatter somewhere.

The blue guy’s a bit too far for the impact to actually reach, but that’s not the point. As Katsuki expects, Kirishima rushes into the smokescreen he created and a moment later, as the sea breeze blows the dust away, the massive sword clangs against Red Riot’s rock-hard forearm. Kirishima’s s***-eating grin is obvious in his voice when he speaks.

“Excuse us,” he says.

Katsuki snorts and lets loose a volley strong enough to propel him up and over their heads. He aims to land behind the blue freak, give him a nice farewell blast to the back, and then he and Kirishima can be off again—

The sword comes straight up in a gleaming arc and Katsuki barely has enough time to adjust his path with a corrective blast. It throws off his trajectory, and he skids to his feet much too close to the swordsman for comfort. The sword sweeps again, and Katsuki leaps over it only to watch the blade drag a three-foot rut across solid pavement.

Just what kind of support equipment is that!?

“Bakugou!” Kirishima snaps over the rattle of nearby vehicles, the commotion stirred up by fleeing passersby. “You keep going, I’ll keep him busy! Uchiha’s our priority right now!”

“I don’t think so—” Blue Freak starts, beady eyes riveting on Katsuki. Three slits in his cheekbones underline each eye, and they almost look like… gills. That’s all Katsuki gets to think, however, before Kirishima’s launched himself onto Blue Freak’s back and wrapped his arms around his throat from behind.

That’s his opening. Katsuki turns and rockets outta there like a three-headed hellhound is on his tail.

There’s the smallest of regrets as he leaves the battle behind, but he squashes it. It’s what they have to do. They have a mission.

Uchiha better appreciate this. If anything happens to—

No. He refuses to think like that. Kirishima is strong. Stronger than most of the losers in their entire grade. He’ll be fine. They’ll both be fine.

He’s flying double-time now. The buildings rush by at breakneck speed, but they’re close now. They have to be. If that blue goon is here to barricade the area, to keep Heroes from getting inside—or worse, to keep them, the students from Class 2-A specifically, away, then this has to be the place. They’re practically right on top of Izanami.

And if they find Izanami, they find Uchiha Sasuke.

Through the blur of colors and lights that pass by, Katsuki glimpses an anomalous dark patch in the shadows of an alleyway. He redirects about a block further down with a blast ahead of him and whips toward the roof of a nearby apartment building, vaulting off window ledges until he’s reached the top. Then, keeping his steps quiet and using un-aided jumps over the gaps between buildings, he backtracks toward the alley, keeping his eyes trained over the darkest places.

Sure, all the back routes are pitch black this time of day. Er, night. But the spot he saw, it seemed darker than the rest. He’d felt a presence in the blink it had taken him to pass it by.

Once there, he peers down into the shadows, holding his breath.

The street lights do very little to penetrate the inky blackness that pervades these kinds of spaces. The barest amount of light allows Katsuki to make out the edges of dumpsters and piping, some cardboard boxes and bits of trash. Then, disappearing around the corner near the back of the building, he spots the dark spot again.

He’s wearing a suit. Slacks and a black vest, white shirt.

The Warp Gate villain doesn’t need to skulk about in alleyways. It’s gotta be Izanami.

Taking a deep breath, Katsuki bears his teeth and then rushes the roof’s edge where the figure disappeared. He launches himself over and announces himself to the virgin stars.

“I’M COMING FOR YOU, YOU BEAK-FACED B*****D!” He aims his palms down.

Izanami looks up. Just turns his head, like Katsuki just wished him f***ing good evening. He’s missing his crow mask. His eyes, black as the shadows that swallow his hair, are haggard under rims of thick lashes. Then he blinks and his eyes are glowing red.

Hissing through his teeth, Katsuki fires off a Stun Grenade with both hands to block those eyes out. He’s not getting caught in Izanami’s dream loops again, not today! Today, he’s bringing this f***er down, and then Uchiha Sasuke will have no reason to go traipsing about like a lunatic and risking everything his class has worked for.

Katsuki lands in the midst of a rapidly dissipating cloud and springs up, rigid, hands raised and ready for anything. He knows Izanami’s fast as heck, fast as he is, fast as Sasuke and Sasuke has a Reflex Quirk. Katsuki might venture to say Izanami’s almost inhuman, if he was the marveling type. Thankfully, he’s not.

Nothing happens though. He’s ready for something that never comes, and when five seconds go by and Izanami hasn’t made a move, it ticks Katsuki off. Is he not taking this seriously?

He’s not in a dream is he…? For the briefest of moments, Katsuki’s heart lodges in his throat and he slaps one of his searing palms across his own forearm. The heat stings and he yanks his hand away. No, he’s awake… He tries not to let his sigh of relief sound too loudly.

“Where are you, freak?” he spits into the darkness, waving the lingering haze away. A few meters down the alley, past a pair of trash bins, he can make out the man’s silhouette. He’s standing, but not moving. “No games today. We’re settling this here and now.”

Another long period of silence stretches between them, and Katsuki grits his jaw. What is up with this guy? He must be underestimating him. Does he not believe him or what?

Then Izanami hums, like he’s mulling this idea over. Katsuki’s rage spikes higher.

“No games, hm…” Izanami oozes, voice as lofty and condescending as ever. Katsuki f***ing hates it. “How exactly do you plan on accomplishing this?”

Katsuki snarls. “The h*** you take me for? I’ll kick your a**. Slam you into a few walls, maybe throw a dumpster on you for good measure. Then it’s off to the clink.”

That’s enough talk. Katsuki hurls himself forward, boosting his speed with a few controlled explosions. He reels his right arm back, preparing for a nice, loaded right hook. He’s ready to blast that blank look right off this madman’s face. He drives his hand forward, to Izanami’s right, heats his sweat-soaked palm and lets off a blast that knocks the dust right off the surrounding brick walls.

He knows all this’ll do is make the villain move. That’s the idea. Izanami dodges left, and now Katsuki can knock him back into the building with a satisfying  _boom_. Too easy. He’s almost disappointed.

Then a slim, cold hand curls around his right wrist and wrenches him off his feet, swiveling and throwing  _him_  into the wall. Katsuki’s back hits the brick and the breath comes whooshing out of his lungs in a gasp. Pain shoots up and down his spine.

“People like you have no imagination,” says Izanami, looming over him, cool and calm as ever. His face lacks any and all emotion. He talks like he’s dealing with a child, like he can’t even spare the effort to be concerned, not for himself or for the outcome of this fight. Like he knows Katsuki can’t touch him.

But Katsuki can… right?

_F*** yeah, I’ll touch him. I blow his head off._

He raises a hand toward Izanami’s smug face, prepping another blast. Gain a little distance, then smoke him with an AP shot. That’s the new plan. When faced with the very real threat of a deadly explosion going off mere inches from one’s body, most instinctively switch to evasion tactics. It’s just human nature. It’s Katsuki’s greatest edge.

So when Izanami moves  _closer_  instead of away, Katsuki’s caught off guard. Izanami grips his right wrist again, angles it up so that the explosion rockets into the sky, shatters a few windows on the second story above them, and in the same second, a knee’s driven into Katsuki’s stomach, pinching him between the impact and the brick behind him. Pain stuns him from both sides, and reflex doubles him over as he gasps for his stolen breath.

Tapered fingers weave into his hair and yank his head up, stretching, craning his neck to an uncomfortable angle. Katsuki meets the villain’s cold black gaze with a fiery snarl. When he raises his left hand to try and explode the man’s guts out, the hand in his hair tightens and rocks him back. His skull meets the brick wall with a  _crack_  that makes the shadows claw at the edges of his vision. Katsuki loses control of his body for the briefest of moments. He tries screaming, willing himself to move. The back of his head feels cold, something tickling its way toward his neck.

Then Izanami’s delicate face fills his view as the villain bows his head close. He murmurs into his ear while Katsuki can’t yet lift his arms.

“Allow me to demonstrate the true power of the mind.”

He moves fast. Too fast. Izanami stabs his hand toward his sternum.

His fingers tear  _straight through,_ penetrating flesh and bone. Fire explodes through Katsuki’s chest. The fingers coil around a rib and wrench it free from his body with a sickening crunch and the gurgle of blood. Katsuki’s scream tears through the night. Consciousness flits to the edges of escape.

Izanami hoists him up by the handhold he’s created in Katsuki’s side—he lifts him like he weighs f***ing nothing—and slings him to the opposite side of the alley. Katsuki hits the wall hard—too hard, too hard to make sense, but very little is making sense at this point, he can’t think anymore. He leaves a crater in the brick and slumps to the ground. Blood is soaking the front of his Hero uniform. He can’t f***ing breathe.

His body shivers against his will. Izanami moves toward him and he skids a lethargic heel against the ground in a desperate attempt to somehow keep the villain from getting close to him again.

What’s this? He can’t be… afraid?

No. He’s not going to lose this.

A chill seeps down his spine. Coppery fluid fills his mouth, makes him choke.

He’s not going to die here.

He can’t. He stil... he’s not done yet. 

They still need him.

_How did this happen?_

“Your Quirk is strong,” Izanami murmurs, standing over him now, “but your mind is still weak.”

He stomps Katsuki’s ankle into the ground, snapping the joint. Katsuki screams again.

Somebody yells his name, but they’re far away.  _“Bakugou?”_

Izanami threads his fingers into Katsuki’s hair again and yanks up, his other hand coming in to squeeze Katsuki’s throat. His nimble fingers dig into the arteries in his neck. He feels his windpipe start to collapse.

“Nnot… like… tthis…” he hisses, blood seeping between his teeth. His vision’s going dark…

 _“Bakugou!”_ There it is again. Sounds like… who is that…?

“Sleep, Bakugou Katsuki,” Izanami croons. Katsuki’s eyelids flutter. Sleep sounds so appealing. Blood’s filling his lungs—

Something strikes his ear, knocking his head to one side. The pain—sharp, vivid, so different—shocks his eyes open. He lashes out into the darkness, at the shadow of the man leaning over him, and when a hand catches his wrist, he sends off a completely uncontrolled blast right into the man’s face. Silence falls after that, save for the heaving of Katsuki’s breath and the hiss of wind that ushers the ashes away.

Kirishima stares down at him, raises an eyebrow and deactivates his Quirk. “Dude… are you okay?”

He can’t catch his breath. His eyes dart, he can’t f***ing think… What was happening? Izanami, Izanami got him. They were fighting, the rib, the blood. He can still feel phantom pain wracking his ribcage. He clutches the front of his costume, convincing himself there’s not a gaping hole in his body.

It’s not there…

_I couldn’t… I couldn’t even touch him._

He lurches to his feet, soles scuffing against the alley floor, his steps drunken and he practically sprawls into Kirishima, who assumes he’s on his way to falling right back on his face. Katsuki shoves him away when he tries to steady him, and instead staggers to the center of the alleyway and sends his gaze over every inch.

There’s not even a single sign Izanami was ever here.

Katsuki’s breath comes faster, and this time it has nothing to do with pain.

Kirishima sighs. A sound of empathy. “He got away, huh?”

It’s the last thing he wants to hear. Or admit. Katsuki throws his head back and screams profanity to the sky.

Then the world bucks and dips and his knees buckle and suddenly Kirishima is propping him up while he watches the stars slowly disappear into blackness.

The last thing he hears is Kirishima muttering. “I hate that guy.”

_You and me both, Kirishima. That’s why we’re gonna kill him. Him and his stupid little brother._

_...that d*** nerd better appreciate all this._


End file.
